Solderless connector

ABSTRACT

A solderless wire-connector contains a slotted resilient metal plate contact element slidably retained in a grooved insulating body which may be opened for lateral insertion of wires by unfolding along a hinge area displaced from the plane of said wires.

United States Patent 1191 Johansson Oct. 14, 1975 SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR3,793,611 2/1974 Johansson er al 339/98 [75] Inventor: Ronald C.Johansson, Lake St.

,Crolx Beach Primary ExaminerJoseph H. McGlynn [73] Assignee; MinnesotaMining and Attorney, Agent, or FirmAlexander, Sell, Steldt &

Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, DeLaHunt 4 Minn.

[22] Filed: May 28, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 473,329

A solderless wire-connector contains a slotted resilient 52 vs. C].339/98 metal Plate Contact element Slidably retained in a 51 1m. 01.H01R 9/08 grooved insulating y which y be Opened for [58] Field ofSearch 339/97-99 eral insertion of Wires by unfolding along a hinge areadisplaced from the plane of said wires. [56] References Cited Elm 339/983 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent 0m. 14. 1975 3,912,356

SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR This invention relates to, solderlesswire-connectors and in one particular aspect to tap connectors formaking T or X connections to run wires. In a specific aspect theinvention relates to improvements in solderless wire-connectors having aresilient slotted contact element in a plastic insulating body which maybe temporarily unfolded for introduction of wires andwherein connectionto the' wires is then made by forcefulinsertion of said contact element.

Solderless wire-connectors comprising a slotted contact element in ahinged insulating body have been described, for example in U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,388,370, 3,500,292 and 3,576,518. In these connectors the slottedmetal plate contact element is forced over the wires to be connected,causing resilient spreading of the contact lobes. Where the outer lobeof the contact element is thus extended toward or into the hinge area,as in the connector of U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,370, the resulting stressesmay cause eventual reduction in insulation value at that point.Increasing the thickness of the insulating body at the hinge areaeffectively avoids subsequent electrical breakdown but stiffens thehinge to the extent that the two halves of such a body cannot be easilyseparated a distance sufficient to permit lateral entry of the wire orwires. It has therefore been found necessary in such connectors to widenthe longitudinal slots to a width equal to at least a major proportionof the diameter of the wire-channels. But the excess slot width, whilepermitting entry of wires without undue bending at the thickened hingearea, then permits subsequent movement of the wires within the channels,resulting eventually in deterioration of the electrical connection.

It has now been found possible to reduce the width of the wire entryslot or slots to a minimum and to permit extensive unfolding of thehinged body so as to obtain improved confinement and substantialimmobility of the connected wires, while still avoiding any unduestressing or weakening at the hinge area during forceful insertion ofthe contact element, by relocating the hinge area along a line betweenthe plane of the contact element entry face and the parallel planenearest thereto and tangent to the adjacent wire-receiving channel.

In the drawing,

FIG. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of a preferred embodiment ofthe invention,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the insulating body of the connector ofFIG. 1 with a portion cut away to show further detail,

FIG. 3 is an edge view, partly in section, of the body of FIG. 2 takenapproximately at line 33 thereof, and

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of another form of insulating body.

The connector of FIG. 1 consists of a one-piece body 11 of moldedplastic insulation material, and a doubly folded slotted metal contactelement 12. A single flat plate element as shown in US. Pat. No.3,388,370 may equally well be employed but the improved body structureof the present invention more readily permits the more effective foldedelement to be used.

The body 11 is channeled to provide wire-receiving and wire-supportingchannels 13, 14 and is slotted transversely of the channels to provideslots 15, 16, best seen in FIG. 2, for slidably receiving the element 12which is inserted through'opening' 17 in the flat face 18 of the body. Acover 23 is connected to along hinge 31.

The body 11 is slotted along one edge to provide narrow edge slot19,.and internally along slot 27 from channel 14 past a portion ofchannel 13 and to hinge area 20 extending along the opposite edge. Thehinge area is between the plane of the flat top surface 18 and a secondplane parallel thereto and tangent to the channel 13 at the line nearestsaid surface 18.

Channel 14 is open along the entire length of the body 11. Channel 13,on the other hand, is preferably closed at one end by end wall 21, whicheffectively insulates and protects a wire-end inserted endwise into thechannel. The extension 22 of opening 17 permits inspection of thewire-end to make certain that it extends past the slot 15 and thecontact element 12 prior to completing the connection.

The body is thickened centrally along the hinged edge to form a band 30extending over the adjacent ends of the channels l5, 16. The bandcontinues across the bottom face of the body in a series of longitudinalridges 32, forming a reinforced surface against which force is applied,e.g., with pliers or press, in driving the contact element into theinsulating body and over the insulated wires.

In making a T-connection a wire-end is inserted in channel 13, the twosections of the body are spread apart about the hinge 20, and a run-wireis inserted laterally through the temporarily widened channel 19. Thecontact element 12 is forced into the body and onto the wires, and thecover 23 is then folded over the face of the body and the end section 24is snapped in place over the extended edges 25, 26. The edge slot 19 issubstantially fully closed and the wires are firmly held within thechannels.

As the contact element 12 is forced over the wires supported in channelsl3, 14, the outer contact lobes 28, 29 of the element are forcedoutwardly and lobes 28 tend to stress the plastic body at the ends ofthe slots l5, 16. Due to its novel placement, the hinge area 20 is notaffected and retains its full strength and thickness, thereby avoidingany decrease in insulating qualities at the point of impact. Thethickness of the band 30 provides continued full insulation over thelobes 28.

The body 40 of FIG. 4 differs from body 11 of FIGS. 1 and 2 in theposition of the slot extending from the hinge area to the run-wirechannel 44. Whereas in the structure shown in FIG. 1 a single extendedslot 27 is provided, the body 40 is doubly slotted, at slot 41 betweenthe two wire-receiving channels 43, 44 and again at slot 47 extendingfrom the inner channel 43 to the hinge area 50, in addition to the edgeslot 49. This structure likewise permits the hinge area to be locatedbetween the parallel planes as defined in conjunction with FIG. 1. FIG.4 additionally illustrates a modification in which the end wall 21 ofFIG. 1 is omitted, and which therefore permits the interconnecting oftwo run-wires in an X-connection.

Whereas the invention has herein been described in terms of connectorsfor making connection between two wires, it will be recognized thatconnectors for three or more wires may equally well be constructed inaccordance with the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A solderless wire-connector comprising a onepiece insulative bodymember and a resilient conducthe body tive contact element, said bodymember having opposing side edges and a flat face, being channeled toprovide parallel longitudinal wire-receiving and wiresupportingchannels, and being slotted from said face and transversely of saidchannels to receive said contact element, said element being slotted inline with said channels to provide open-ended wire-receiving slots, saidbody being formed with a narrow slot between one of said edges and theadjacent one of said channels, and being formed with a further slotextending from said one channel and terminating at a body hinge area,said body hinge area being located along through the channel adjacentsaid hinge area.

1. A solderless wire-connector comprising a one-piece insulative bodymember and a resilient conductive contact element, said body memberhaving opposing side edges and a flat face, being channeled to provideparallel longitudinal wire-receiving and wire-supporting channels, andbeing slotted from said face and transversely of said channels toreceive said contact element, said element being slotted in line withsaid channels to provide open-ended wire-receiving slots, said bodybeing formed with a narrow slot between one of said edges and theadjacent one of said channels, and being formed with A further slotextending from said one channel and terminating at a body hinge area,said body hinge area being located along the opposite edge and betweenthe plane of said face and the nearest plane parallel thereto which istangent to the channel adjacent said opposing edge.
 2. Wire-connector ofclaim 1 wherein the slot formed between said one channel and said hingearea passes around a portion of the channel adjacent said hinge area. 3.Wire-connector of claim 1 wherein the slot formed between said onechannel and said hinge area passes through the channel adjacent saidhinge area.